SAN DIEGO – The Aztec lacrosse team (5-6) is back on the road this weekend when they play at No. 3 Northwestern (11-2) on Sunday at 10 a.m. PT (12 p.m. CT). The game will be streamed on B1G+, which requires a subscription. The cheapest plan is $10 for one month.
Aztec Tidbits
• SDSU is in the midst of a five-game road stretch and won a pair of games on the East Coast last week, winning 13-7 at Quinnipiac and then 20-6 at Columbia.
• The Aztecs have won their last three road games dating back to their Feb. 27 18-15 win at Oregon. This is just the second time ever that SDSU has won three straight road games and the first time since the 2014 season.
• In their wins at Quinnipiac and Columbia last weekend, SDSU held their opponents to 13 total goals, their fewest allowed in a two-game stretch since 2018 when they held Furman and Wofford to 11 goals across two road games.
• The Aztecs won 20-6 at Columbia, their most goals since March 13, 2018 vs. Bucknell. This was also their largest margin of victory since beating Wofford 23-4 March 18, 2018.
• The Aztecs had seven different players score at Quinnipiac and eight at Columbia.
• SDSU is now 4-3 on the road, their most road victories since 2018.
• Deanna Balsama was added to the prestigious Tewaaraton Award Watch List last week. The award annually honors the top male and female college lacrosse player in the United States. Balsama has set school records for goals in a game (8 twice), tied the record for points in a game (10) and is three goals away from setting a new program high for goals in a season.
• The Aztecs are 18th in the nation in shots on goal per game (25.0) and 27th in shots per game (32.2).
• SDSU is 26th in the nation with 17.9 ground balls per game. Goalkeeper Sam Horan is sixth in the nation with 3.4 ground balls per game.
• On three occasions this season an Aztec has scored eight or more points in a game this year (Balsama twice & O'Donnell once). Prior to this year, that had only happened twice in SDSU's 10-year history.
• The Aztecs have played or will play six teams that are currently ranked or receiving votes in the most recent IWLCA poll. SDSU has already played No. 8 Denver, No. 12 Princeton, No. 13 USC, T-25. Arizona State and RV Drexel and still have to play at No. 3 Northwestern and No. 15 Rutgers.
• SDSU will be on the road for five consecutive games and all five will be east of the Mississippi River. After playing at Quinnipiac and Columbia last week, the Aztecs are at No. 3 Northwestern this Sunday, at then at No. 15 Rutgers and play against Brown at Fairleigh Dickinson University.
Player Notes
Deanna Balsama (Sr. | Attack | Sea Isle, N.J.)
• Balsama was added to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List last week. The award is given to the nation's top player.
• She is three goals away from setting the SDSU record for most goals in a season. She has 50 and the record is 52 set by Harlowe Steele in 2019. She is on pace to score 68 goals.
• Balsama is top five in the nation in five categories. She is second in shots on goal per game (7.1) and free position goals per game (1.6), third in goals (50) and goals per game (4.55) and fourth in shots per game (8.6).
• Balsama has scored eight goals in a game twice, the most in a game in school history.
• Her 10 points against Princeton tied for the most in a game in school history (Michaela Jarvis – 2013). She also had nine against Oregon.
Sam Horan (Sr. | GK | San Rafael, Calif.)
• Horan averages 12.7 saves per game, the second most in the nation.
• She had a three-game stretch where she averaged 18.3 saves per game. First she had a school record 21 saves against No. 10 Princeton then she saved 18 against Marquette in the following game, the third-most in school history and then against Drexel, she had 16, fourth-most in school history.
• She is averaging 3.36 ground balls per game, the sixth most in the nation.
Camdyn O'Donnell (Jr. | Attack | Poway, Calif.)
• Her 13 assists are tied for the most on the team.
• She is second on the team in points (42) and goals (29).
• O'Donnell had seven goals and an assist against Marquette on March 15. Her seven goals tied for the second most in school history and her eight points tied for the fourth most in program history.
• She attempted 14 shots against Marquette, the most ever in a game for an Aztec.
• She collected eight ground balls at Oregon (Feb. 27), the most in school history.
Bailey Brown (Sr. | Midfield | Katy, Texas)
• Brown is SDSU's all-time leader in draw controls with 227 and counting.
• She had nine draw controls at Oregon, which matched her career-high. Brown is the only Aztec in school history to have at least nine draw controls in a game twice (she has done it on three occasions).
• She is third on the team in goals (17) and fourth in points (23).
Brook Waddell (Soph. | Attack | Wilsonville, Ore.)
• Her 13 assists are tied for the most on the team.
• She had career-highs in goals (3) and assists (3) at Columbia last Saturday.
• She has 10 total points over the last two games.
Julia Lytle (Sr. | Midfield | Martinsville, N.J.)
• Lytle caused five turnovers against Marquette last Tuesday, tied for the second-most in school history.
• She leads the team with 18 caused turnovers on the year.
• Against UC Davis on Feb. 22, she had seven ground balls, which tied a school record at the time (O'Donnell had eight the following week).
Opponent Notebook (No. 3 Northwestern)
Northwestern has made the last 17 NCAA Tournaments and won the national championship seven of eight years from 2005 to 2012… The Wildcats are 11-2 on the year and ranked No. 3 in the latest IWLCA poll… Their only losses were at Boston College and at North Carolina, who are currently the top two ranked teams in the country… They are a perfect 7-0 at home and are coming off a 21-13 win over No. 15 Rutgers (SDSU's next opponent) on Thursday… They are 6-2 against teams currently ranked… They feature a high-powered offense that scores 16.5 goals per game on 35.3 shots, both are top ten in the country… They win 57 percent of their draw controls and average 18.4 per game, third most in the country… Lauren Gilbert, the preseason Big Ten Player to Watch, has 52 goals and 72 points, both of which are top 10 in the country… Erin Coykendall's 26 assists are the 10th most in the nation… Jill Girardi averaged 10.8 draw controls per game, the second most in the nation… Goalkeeper Madison Doucette has a goals allowed average of 11.83 and a save percentage of .413… Head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller is a four time IWLCA Coach of the Year and has a career record of 325-84.
Aztecs at No. 3 Northwestern Sunday
